From what I have read in other AARs the current annotation for weather over the hex is what took place last turn and there is no way to get a precise forecast for a single hex to make your decisions on. Pressing the "3" key will show a very general weather forecast for the whole region but it can be very wrong about a single hex, so it is no help. The actual weather seems to be quite random - you cannot infer that "light rain" will progress to "moderate rain"or "heavy rain" or ease up to "overcast" or "partial cloud". I have never seen "clear" as a weather result in this crazy game, tourist photos of sunny isles notwithstanding . I think the whole thing could have been modeled better.

Well another day went by and nothing flew against Osaka!! Damnit. Oh well, at least my B29's are well rested with high morale now.

The Antietam made it to base (phew).

Cruft has countered my Fast Raider fleets with MTB fleets, of which I countered with PT fleets operating out of Fukue-Jima. Punch, counterpunch, counter-counterpunch :) Love PBEM !!!! I'll get more out later.

CAP engaged: Sasebo Ku S-1 with J7W1 Shinden (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 22000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 13 minutes 261 Ku S-2 with A6M7 Zero (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 22000 and 29000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 14 minutes 265 Ku S-1 with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 19000 and 27000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 11 minutes 352 Ku S-2 with J2M5 Jack (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. 2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 12000 and 27000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 11 minutes S-161 Hikotai with A6M5b Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 5 minutes S-407 Hikotai with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 14000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 10 minutes 22nd Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 19000 and 26000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes 53rd Sentai with Ki-45 KAIc Nick (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 22 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 6 minutes 63rd Sentai with Ki-43-IV Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes 105th Sentai with Ki-61-Ib Tony (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 21000 and 26000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 14 minutes 112th Sentai with Ki-43-IV Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 5 minutes 381 Ku S-1 with A6M7 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 20000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 2 minutes 102nd Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 5 plane(s) not yet engaged, 5 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 17000 and 29000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 15 minutes 352 Ku S-1 with J2M5 Jack (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 19000 and 21000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 11 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Tanegashima at 102,62

CAP engaged: VF-66 with F6F-5 Hellcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 8 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 16000 , scrambling fighters to 20000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 26 minutes

Banzai! - Kamihira G. in a G4M2a Betty is willing to die for the Emperor

CAP engaged: Sasebo Ku S-1 with J7W1 Shinden (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 8 minutes 261 Ku S-2 with A6M7 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 24000 and 26190. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 11 minutes 265 Ku S-1 with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 17000 and 21000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 29 minutes 352 Ku S-2 with J2M5 Jack (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 22000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 26 minutes S-161 Hikotai with A6M5b Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 10 minutes S-407 Hikotai with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 22000 and 25000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 45 minutes 22nd Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 1 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 20000 and 29000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes 53rd Sentai with Ki-45 KAIc Nick (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 22 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes 63rd Sentai with Ki-43-IV Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 17000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 11 minutes 105th Sentai with Ki-61-Ib Tony (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 5 minutes 112th Sentai with Ki-43-IV Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 6 minutes 381 Ku S-1 with A6M7 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 4 minutes 102nd Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (2 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. 6 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 21000 and 29000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes 352 Ku S-1 with J2M5 Jack (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 21000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 10 minutes

Iím working over Nagasaki for sure, but wait, thereís more fail-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Nagasaki/Sasebo , at 102,58

CAP engaged: VF-66 with F6F-5 Hellcat (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 6 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 16000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 37 minutes

I had CAP set at around 17k feet. Looks like he split his attack and came in at 25k feet. I might have to raise the cap level and fly some LRCAP over this hex at a low alt to cover these approaches.

Looks like everything is falling into place for you. Have to think you got somewhat lucky when those heavy Betty strikes achieved nothing.

Re: your comment "I suspect Cruft is fast transporting from Shanghai to China. Iíll reset some Fast Raiders along the route to intercept. I had hoped for more destruction with a CL in my fleet. Oh well. "

I think the 32 kt CL probably prevented your DDs from dealing with those MTBs. The DDs would be closer in speed and more manoeverable on their own and could have engaged longer. However, I guess you can't always choose which enemy TF you will fight so having a CL to help against his DDs or CLs is reasonable too.

So this PB/SC tf has been guarding the straights between Honshu and Hokkaido Ė on the *west* side of the straights. After the IJN CV sightings of a couple days ago, my Fast Raider TFís were in place. Well I decided to send a ďslowĒ Fast Raider fleet to see if they could deal with this menace to my subs, and also flush out whatever Cruft had in Hokkaido. Looks like the engagement turned out better for me, than him. Kinda happy about that, never played to the point where I had these PF ships, didnít really know their capabilities. I figured they were better than PB/PC/SCís, but not as good as DEís or DDís.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on TF, near Orchid Island at 87,68

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (3 airborne, 8 on standby, 4 scrambling) 3 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 18000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 4 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 12000 and 20000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 38 minutes 27th Sentai with Ki-45 KAId Nick (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 11 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 10 on standby, 11 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 5 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 8000 and 20000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 50 minutes

So my B29ís failed to fly the last two days in the daytime. So Iíll send them in at night on a firebombing attack. I plan on firebombing Osaka for the next 3-4 days in a row. The next attack will probably be split between day and night, and will have about Ĺ-3/4ís of the planes, cuz I only had my b29s on 10% rest. Iím going to up that to 30-40% across the board to keep em flying daily over the next few days. Everything will be a city attack to see what kind of fires I can generate. Anyhow Ė this dayís events was very uncoordinated, as the next 10 combats will show. PS Ė this is the way the devs can deal with the ďmassive 2k plane strikeĒ, increase the coordination penalties so strikes come in all split up.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

Patsies out of Tokyo. After Iím done with OsakaÖ I have a feel Cruft is pretty complacent about me not attacking Tokyo Ė so Iím going to ignore Tokyo for the next week Ė let him move more planes there, and then plaster it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Fukue-jima , at 101,58

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 61 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 41 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 55 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 51 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 55 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 61 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 54 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 39 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 51 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 53 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 59 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 61 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 53 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 55 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 59 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 57 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 52 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 60 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 51 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 45 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 52 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 49 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 49 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 44 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 57 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 48 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 61 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 41 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 53 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 43 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Manila , at 79,77

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 61 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 41 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 53 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 56 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 57 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 61 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 58 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 59 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 58 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 34 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 56 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 55 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 53 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 50 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 51 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 50 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 40 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 53 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 352 Ku S-3 with J1N1-S Irving (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 7000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 54 minutes T-12 Hikotai with S1A1 Denko (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 12000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 36 minutes 106th Sentai with Ki-46-III KAI Dinah (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 11 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 6000 and 13000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 60 minutes

172k fires after all that. DL levels went up dramatically. I bet tomorrows daytime attack kicks some butt Ė if they actually flyÖ. Cuz you know, Osaka is a t-storm magnet.

CAP engaged: 261 Ku S-1 with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (5 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 44 minutes 261 Ku S-2 with A6M7 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (3 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 3 minutes 265 Ku S-1 with A6M8 Zero (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (10 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 9 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 2 minutes S-407 Hikotai with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (7 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 5 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 34 minutes

Nice to see my corsairs out of Fukue-Jima sweep before the bombers go in to keep the IJ troops disrupted. A couple more days of this and my troops should be recovered from the snap-invasion to try a deliberate attack just to see what heís got left in the tank.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Tanegashima , at 102,62

CAP engaged: 261 Ku S-1 with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 22000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes 265 Ku S-1 with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 4 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 20000 and 24000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 76 minutes S-407 Hikotai with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 29000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 14 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Iki-shima at 102,56

CAP engaged: Yokosuka Ku S-1 with N1K5-J George (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (5 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 4 minutes S-303 Hikotai with N1K1-J George (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (3 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 4 minutes S-304 Hikotai with N1K2-J George (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 4 minutes S-601 Hikotai with N1K1-J George (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (1 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 43 minutes 48th Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (14 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 3 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 6 being recalled, 5 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 42 minutes 55th Sentai with Ki-61-II KAI Tony (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (2 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes 104th Sentai with Ki-84b Frank (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (15 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 12 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes 246th Sentai with Ki-43-IV Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (6 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 6 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 42 minutes 5th Sentai with Ki-43-IV Oscar (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (6 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 3 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes S-302 Kokutai with A6M5 Zero (0 airborne, 8 on standby, 15 scrambling) 8 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 15000 and 33000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 19 minutes

Interesting, I expected more, better, fighters at Tokyo. Hmmm. Where could they be?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on Tokyo , at 114,60

CAP engaged: S-302 Kokutai with A6M5 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 3 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 17000 and 35000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 35 minutes S-601 Hikotai with N1K1-J George (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 1 minutes 48th Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 4 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes 55th Sentai with Ki-61-II KAI Tony (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 2 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 50 minutes 104th Sentai with Ki-84b Frank (1 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) intercepting now. 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 17000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 13 minutes 246th Sentai with Ki-43-IV Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 3 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters to 20000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes Yokosuka Ku S-1 with N1K5-J George (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 29000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes 5th Sentai with Ki-43-IV Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 3 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 19000 and 25000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes

I do like the IJ losses

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on Yokohama/Yokosuka , at 113,61

CAP engaged: 345 Ku S-1 with A6M8 Zero (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (6 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 3 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes 345 Ku S-2 with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (7 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 7 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 6 minutes 19th Sentai with Ki-61-Id Tony (4 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (14 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 4 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 6 being recalled, 4 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 34 minutes 71st Sentai with Ki-43-IV Oscar (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (14 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 8 being recalled, 6 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 31 minutes

As you can see, Iíve decided to forgo rotating sweeps against one target, and decided to sweep a multitude of different targets to see if I can increase my kill rates.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

According to Wikipedia, it was supposed to be the Japanese answer to the P-61 Black Widow. The name means "bolt of light", which I guess is good for a night fighter. IRL two prototypes were begun , but neither was ever completed.

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Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

IIRC japan started with all the points (something like 70k to my 5k)... and all the victory points are located in Japan proper, for the most part - going through China and Korea won't give me the points to overcome his lead. I need to take bases in Japan to "win" - although I've never played this scenario before and have no idea what pace I need to set. I figure I need to be pretty "even" with history - which planned an invasion of Kyushu 2 months after this scenario starts, and invade Honshu on March 1st.

I'm pretty sure I"m not going to follow the same invasion plan as "history", except I want to be landing somewhere on Japan in 2 months.

I'll post the Victory Point screen as soon as I get a turn back, to see where I'm at and where I need to be.

This IS a fun game for the allies. After all, how many grand campaign games really go to the point where the Allies have "everything"? None of the PBEM's I've tried made it past mid '43. It really sucks to play for a year or two of real life and get the poo beat out of you as allies, then have the Japanese quit when the tide turns and they are looking forward to another 2-3 years of getting pushed all over the map.

I made a comment to Cruft that his airplane hit rates remind me of the Dutch in '41. So this is what it's like to roll through the DEI :)

Also, nearly 1/3 to 1/2 of all of Japan's heavy industry is located in Osaka and Tokyo. If I knew how effective my planes would be, and how ineffective his fighters would be, I"d have started firebombing Tokyo on day 1. As it is, I've delayed attacking those targets until now... and my B29 plan for the next few days is to firebomb Osaka and see what kind of damage I can do to everything in the hex. I read that industry destroyed by fires can't be repaired, it's "gone". I figure on 4 days of hard flying against Osaka and then we'll see what sort of fires and damage have been done. As it is right now, I think there's about 200k fires in Osaka. I'll probably have to rest my bombers after that for a few days which is OK because I"ll be needing my fighters for cap for another mini-invasion in preperation for the big assault which will be coming in about 6 weeks game-time.

CAP engaged: VF(N)-78 with F6F-3N Hellcat (2 airborne, 6 on standby, 1 scrambling) 2 plane(s) intercepting now. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 4000 and 10000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 34 minutes

Some CAP have air radar

well the night cap didnít shoot down much, but made their attacks ineffective, as the following will show -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night Air attack on Fukue-jima , at 101,58

CAP engaged: S-901 Hikotai with N1K5-J George (3 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (5 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 3 plane(s) intercepting now. 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 30 minutes S-301 Hikotai with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 12 scrambling) 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 10000 and 29000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 35 minutes 24th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (0 airborne, 4 on standby, 15 scrambling) 2 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 , scrambling fighters between 16000 and 28000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 33 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Nagoya , at 111,60

CAP engaged: S-601 Hikotai with N1K1-J George (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 1 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters to 33000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 17 minutes 51st Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 10 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 20000 and 31000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 36 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 52nd Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) (9 plane(s) diverted to support CAP in hex.) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 6 being recalled, 3 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 34 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: S-308 Hikotai with A6M5 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 5 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 20000 and 30000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 27 minutes S-313 Hikotai with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 2 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 3 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Takao , at 84,65

CAP engaged: S-901 Hikotai with N1K5-J George (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 2 scrambling) Group patrol altitude is 20000 , scrambling fighters between 17000 and 22000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 36 minutes S-301 Hikotai with A6M8 Zero (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 4 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 1 being recalled, 0 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 10000 , scrambling fighters between 27000 and 29000. Time for all group planes to reach interception is 21 minutes 24th Sentai with Ki-44-IIc Tojo (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 15000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 47 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

CAP engaged: 52nd Sentai with Ki-84a Frank (0 airborne, 0 on standby, 0 scrambling) 0 plane(s) not yet engaged, 0 being recalled, 1 out of immediate contact. Group patrol altitude is 20000 Time for all group planes to reach interception is 23 minutes

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

Training flight from S-351 Hikotai has been caught up in attack Banzai! - Hamano U. in a A6M2-K Zero rams a B-29-25 Superfort for the Emperor Banzai! - Obuchi I. in a A6M2-K Zero rams a B-29-25 Superfort for the Emperor Banzai! - Minowa D. in a A6M2-K Zero rams a B-29-25 Superfort for the Emperor

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Osaka/Kyoto , at 109,59

Oh look at that, I logged in with the wrong account. Oh well, it happens. Not that I'm being all sneaky and stuff, after all, who's going to think AcePylut is different from AcePylut9 on these here forums.

214th Division is located at Utsonomiya(115,60). 4th Tank Division is located at Chiba(114,61). 21st Ind.Mixed Brigade is located at Hanoi(68,56). 10th Air Division is located at Nagaoka(114,58). 6th Air Division is located at Iwaki(116,59). 22nd AA Regiment is located at Hankow(85,50). 47th Division is located at Yamagata(116,57). 81st Division is located at Utsonomiya(115,60).

The intersting thing to note, on this day, was weather over Osaka. The night phase saw nothing but Severe Storms. By the time morning rolled around, those storms were so severs that Osaka was socked in and nothing flew against it. In the afternoon phase, the weather let up a little to just Thunderstorms and some planes flew.

Either way, it's one way to get rest.

Around the horn - my combat ships have reloaded and rearmed and are getting ready to head back into harms way.

My Fast Raider fleets continue to wreak utter havoc on the IJN - but it's time to replace the ships on station as they are low on ammo and gas. I've been cycling them in and out as they use up ammo/gas, but now they all need replacement.

Cruft has countered the Fast Raider fleets by using even smaller boats (MTB's, etc.) to soak up ops points and ammo. It's not working well as far as hitting my ships, but it does cause my fleets to return to base a lot quicker.

Up in the North Pac, my 2 Air Combat TF's of 2CV/2CVL have been dancing near Hokkaido trying to draw out the IJN carriers, but Cruft isn't sending them out past a couple hexes from his own base. Too bad, because I have a 6 CVE fleet in the bank waiting for such a strike. Oh well, covering this area has allowed me to bring a lot of stuff to the Aleuts, in preparation for walking down the Kurile chain, as part of my long long long term strategy.

Nothing left in Formosa. Iím sure I could grab this island fairly easily, but do I want to divert from the HI to do so? Benefits: Bases closer to Japan that can stage B29ís. Disadvantages, time and not very many VPís

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Tanegashima , at 102,62

Formosa is empty. Based on how well my B25ís perform, Iíll need to consider reconning the isle to see if I can snatch a few bases on the cheap. I wouldnít want to detail more than a division or two Ė perhaps the Aussies or brits would work.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Tanegashima , at 102,62

The Japanese used 24 Jills, 18 Judys, 6 Graces and 12 kamikazes to attack one DD! Seems like they should have sought bigger game. [I know the AI allocates the attacks so the player doesn't have control of which squadrons go for which TFs, so this is not a criticism of your opponent!]

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I have not yet begun to fight! OTOH I have not yet begun to flee. Hmmmmm - choices, choices -always with the choices.

The used those planes to attack 2 DD's and sank one of them was sunk. We don't know if the japs knew there were 2 or 3 or more DD's in the fleet. :) I'm not surprised really, given the location of these two ships...

ALSO, more importantly, my invasion fleets were heavily LRCAP'ed from Amami Oshima & surrounding airfields (6-8 groups per isle on 80% LRCAP 20% Rest and that I'm sure contributed to the Japanese low exp, low morale, crappy pilots, crappy escorts, failing their morale check and decided to go after the next best target - a confirmed 2, possible 4 DD fleet 40 nautical miles off of Japan.

I've decided to bump up the numbers of all my Fast Raider fleets to a minimum 3 ships. These seem to be as effective as 2DD fleets in ASW & small craft battles, seem to have the same ability to avoid IJ airpower, and the extra ship adds a little more ummmphh for AA and surface combat. It seems as if the 2DD ones just dont have enough juice when encountering something bigger. Of course, I do have legacy legacy Fast Raider fleets out there and the occasional 1 DD fleet (cuz one got sunk)

After those planes BBFanboy spoke of, I thought it might be CVís so I sent in my CVE fleet to investigate. It wasnít. Wakkanini (sp) is built to level 7(6) af, and thatís where they came from. Memo to self Ė change to Hellcats upon returning to base.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on TF, near Fukue-jima at 101,58

My cap did a number, but there were too many. Luckily, these were all unloaded of troops/equipment and were just dumping supplies. Itís a small price to pay for having Fukueshima well supplied and not have to worry about it

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Samah , at 69,63

Recon showed quite a flew planes at Samah Ė so I sent in the B24ís and B27ís from the PI to see whatís up. Looks like thereís a number of transport ac, no doubt sending stuff to China, then Korea, then Japan.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Samah , at 69,63

Might as well take it on the cheap, since I can. Iíll open up the rail line to Bangkok from Singapore just about when I have a couple of small armor units that can begin taking all the bases in China on the cheap. Might as well deny him the vp. Also, lets take a look at what I'm doing in the North....

A few days ago, one of my sctf's covering my CV's had to go back for fuel, along the way, I set all the floatplanes to recon the bases. Most of the bases have 1k troops or so except for Shakutosan and the dot base immediately East - SE of Hokkadaido. 5 APD's can't carry an invasion force, just an occupation force...and none of my troops are really prepped for an atoll invasion.... so I decided to grab Shakutosan, based AV, AD, AS, AG's there to get search and small-boat rearm capability, for a bigger move to the south. I felt that if I grabbed a base or two closer to Japan at this moment, I'd lose it to a small counterattack (i've only got about 5 AV holding that island I just took - as I said, I'm doing the North as cheaply as possible while trying to give the impression of danger)

The straights just north of Wakkanai are not mined - it's the only opening into the Sea of Japan. The straights between Hokkaido and Honshu are not mined very much, I moved most of those subs through those straights with little to no loss.

And yeah, the Porterfield's gonna need to return to base - although the game is actually 1 week ahead of where we're at now.

Ahh - I missed that dot base next to Onnekotan Jima - was probably thinking of the other one you mentioned next to Hokkaido. Nice grab by the way. Taking initiative to attack weak points in the enemy line is a great way to move ahead at minimal cost, and throw him off balance.

BTW - straights are heterosexual people. The water filled channels are straits ...(and no, I was never an English teacher)

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I have not yet begun to fight! OTOH I have not yet begun to flee. Hmmmmm - choices, choices -always with the choices.

Interestingly enough, having never gotten a PBEM past '43, I'm totally unused to the power and tempo the allies can do here.

Had I known better, I'd have been bombing Osaka on Day 1 instead of fearing the IJA/IJN aircraft. I'd have pushed towards Japan faster.

This is really a discovery game for me... as in, discovering what it's like to not get your Allied butt kicked all over the place for a year of game time, and discovering what it's like to go "wherever you want", discovering what its like to be the King of the Hill with P51H's. I havent' even started to fathom how I'm going to use some of the fancy planes like the P80 and such.

Of course, it also means planning a 15 division & assorted support troops invasion and that's going to be a monster task. I have 104 APA's, some 20-50 AKA/AK's, tons of ships...

but making it all happen smoothly, so I can get in and out of Japan's doorstep in 2-4 days, is going to be interesting.

Yeah, it looks awesome when you send TFs with half a dozen CVs all over the place - power to spare!

I've been watching the fighter combat reports and it seems to me that the P47 T-bolt has done better against the Franks than the Mustang. The Mustang may be king of the manoevering dogfight but the T-bolt is the rugged ship that can stick it out after damage in a nose to nose pass. Just my impression, too lazy to do an empirical review of the stats.

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I have not yet begun to fight! OTOH I have not yet begun to flee. Hmmmmm - choices, choices -always with the choices.

Heyhey, the Balao hits. Capn must have been chewed out or something. Anyhow, now they popped their cherry, the Balao goes wildÖ. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sub attack near Aogashima at 112,65

This was probably the best day for the Empire so far, thanks to a combination of my stupidity and a nice setup by Cruft. I left a couple of groups at low altitude when I switched them from an escort role to a sweep role, and paid for it by ending up on the wrong side of the AA battle.

Then, I do have to salute Cruft for his switch to a day attack at Fukue-Jima. he pretty much wiped out my Helldiver squadron there (easily replaceable) and did great damage to my P61's (I don't have a lot, and these things are invaluable in a night-cap role). It was a nice setup by Cruft. I had a feeling it was coming, but didn't act on it.

Now that I have 2 bases, soon to be 3, on the doorstep of Japan, it's not going to be this easy for Cruft to be able to pull a move like this. The bases are building quickly and nicely, and soon they'll be big enough where I can put enough CAP in the air to cover both phases of air combat.

The next turn was much better for me, but I still left a couple air groups at low altitude because well there's so much to do, it's just too easy to forget 1 or 2 things.